Hypermedia elements are nonlinear mediums of information that include graphics, audio, video, plain text and hyperlinks. The hypermedia elements include multiple interactive icons, text boxes, and/or playbacks. Hypermedia elements may be developed in several ways. For example, hypermedia elements may by programmed with tools that link data from internal variables and nodes for external data files. These hypermedia elements can be used in conjunction with multimedia development software but in some cases hypermedia elements may also be used as stand-alone applications, with emphasis on entertainment content. Hypermedia elements can be used in websites for user interfaces and for interactive actions. For instance, hypermedia elements may include hyperlinks that can be added to web source code for specific interactions, scripting, and/or hyperlinking features.
In the context of websites from online retailers hypermedia elements may be used to interact with users, display specific content, and/or gather user data for personalized interactions. For example, through hypermedia elements an online retailer may capture user preferences by presenting input windows and interactive icons. Therefore, online retailers may develop personalized websites when hypermedia elements are leveraged to build visitor profiles that may then be used for determining delivery preferences, capturing delivery instructions, and/or for recommendation algorithms. In some embodiments, hypermedia elements may also be used to display specific information in a website. Thus, hypermedia elements may be used to both request user input and, based on the user input, modify a website to display specific options or conditions. In such embodiments, hypermedia elements may be configured to dynamically modify websites specifically for users, providing online retailers tailored options for user interaction and tools to develop personalized websites.
Hypermedia elements, however, have not been successfully incorporated in certain web applications that require quick interactions between multiple data sources. Some web applications may use static data to generate hypermedia elements. For example, programming of certain hypermedia elements may be based on initialization cookies that selected when the user enters the website the first time. However, other applications use dynamic and time sensitive data to generate the hypermedia elements. For such applications, hypermedia elements may be generated based on timers or dynamic behaviors. In the case of online retailers, hypermedia elements may need to collect information within specific time windows to, for example, meet delivery dates. In such cases, querying data from multiple sources may delay website personalization and undermine the user's overall experience.
The disclosed systems and methods for generating dynamic websites address one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems in the prior art.